Just under a month ago I bought myself a 2017 Brompton M6L, and I have to say it is incredible. Like most bikes however, especially one constructed of steel; it has a weight penalty. My configuration according to Brompton weighs 11.78kg, I don’t have any accurate luggage scales and Bromptons guide is meant to be pretty accurate so I will use that as the starting weight. This blog post will explore my progress in reducing that weight.

In another blog post I talk about all the options and different ways to save weight, including those that can be done at the point of ordering the bike.

The Luggage Block
All Bromptons ordered from Evans Cycle come with the Luggage Block, most likely subtly suggesting people buy some Brompton luggage at the same time. I have yet to buy some; although will probably end up buying the waxed shoulder bag as it looks great, till then it can go.

Weight Saving: 91gNew Brompton Weight: 11.69kg

The Pump
Its always good to carry around a pump, the Brompton pump attaches to the bike. Take it off and store it in your bag is a sneaky way to save weight. Only do this however if you actually carry around a bike repair kit otherwise its pretty useless.

Weight Saving: 92gNew Brompton Weight: 11.60kg

Seatpost
The standard Brompton seatpost is a large chunk of aluminium and perfect for reducing weight. I have the standard length seatpost with the new style stopper. Overall it comes in at 520g for the seatpost and Pentaclip.

I bought myself a Hylix Carbon Fibre 600mm Seatpost from eBay for £33. Its standard weight with saddle mountings is 237g even lower than the quoted 266g.

Being 600mm long, its quite a bit longer than the standard 530mm seatpost, so I started off chopping off 3cm from the end, then chopped off another 4cm bringing it down to 530mm. Chopping off those 7cm saved 22g, bringing the new seatpost down to only 215g.

Weight Saving: 305gNew Brompton Weight: 11.29kg

Seat Post Ring

To stop the shiny new Carbon Seat Post hitting the ground when I fold up the bike, I bought myself a Fizik seat post ring.

Sadly against the spirit of the weight saving project, this is something I am adding, luckily it only weighs 6 grams.

Weight Saving: -6gNew Brompton Weight: 11.29kg

Saddle

The standard Brompton saddle is heavy and not amazingly comfy, so definitely room for improvement. This was one area where I didn’t want to sacrifice too much comfort in the name of weight savings. The original saddle weighed in at 392g.

In the end I choose the Fabric Line Race Saddle, which is a combination of lightweight titanium rails and a comfortable amount of padding, all wrapped up in a good looking shape. It was also at a very competitive price at Leisure Lake Bikes for only £54.99 (Evans charges £74.99 by comparison)

The quoted weight is 237 grams however putting it on the scales has it at only 235 grams!

Weight Saving: 157gNew Brompton Weight: 11.13kg

Tyres and Inner Tubes

Brompton has recently in the last few years updated their tyres reducing their weight considerably. The 2017 tyres for me currently weigh in at 256 grams, with the stock inner tubes weighing 96 grams.

Schwalbe luckily come to my rescue with their lightweight yet puncture resistent Kojak tyres and inner tubes. The tyres are a little slimmer than the standard, but roll a lot faster to compensate.

Weight Saving: 178g ( 74g + 15g )New Brompton Weight: 10.95kg

So thats it so far! In total I have saved a total of 817g. Not to shabby if you ask me, and a lot cheaper than going straight to the superlight titanium Brompton!

9 Responses to Brompton M6L Weight Saving Project

nat

February 23, 2017 at 1:12 am

How’s that carbon post holding up? I’ve ordered a titanium one fearing the carbon might break/only be suitbale for race use (i.e. limited number of uses). I;ve got an old brompton, but a new on order with the LBS.

Recommended to me for maximum weight reduction per $ (without performance drop) is titanium pedals with left pedal quick release and pedal holder.. But waiting for a good set to become available. Some now on eBay, but haven’t found a review. Around 200g savings apparently.

Just wanted to see how it’s going and tell you what a help you’ve been in sourcing/planning out my own Brompton weight loss project! Thanks for all weighting and CLEAR pics. I’ve got a 2016 M6L and by my calculations will save around 1050 grams total without the expensive fork/frame upgrade. 2nd the pedal change suggestion (maybe quick release?)-keep at it!

I do love some of the Bromptification parts but it seems hard to source them now (I heard the guy stopped producing them). I looked at Ti Factory who do a load of Brompton parts at a reasonable price. Probably will go down the marginal gains route soon (replacing bolts etc.)

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My name is Kevin Pfister, I am currently employed as a Software Engineer specializing in Embedded Solutions after finishing my Software Engineering degree at York. I was an Academic Developer Evanglist at Microsoft, World renowned author and a world-wide finalist in the Imagine Cup developer competition in both 2010 and 2011